Medical Devices
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Medical devices are defined by the National Library of Medicine as expendable and nonexpendable equipment, supplies, apparatus, and instruments that are used in diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, scientific, and experimental procedures. Some research studies result in the development of a new or improved medical device or prototype. If a medical device moves beyond the pre-clinical testing phase, it is ready for testing on humans using clinical trial studies. See Research Output and Clinical Implementation sections.
Assessment
Documentation by research study investigators of clinical trials in process or clinical data generated in relation to a medical device is recommended for tracking of knowledge transfer.
Comprehensive review is required to locate medical devices that are being tested in clinical studies or involved in bench studies.
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Search using the keywords, name of device, name of manufacturer, title or the name of the author/research study. |
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Some resources that may be helpful include the following:
Clinical Trials.gov database
The Clinical Trials.gov database allows for searching by a number of criteria including interventions which allows for a search for a specific drug, device, procedure or vaccine. Clinical Trials.gov includes clinical trials from all sources of funding and from over 157 countries.
Cochrane Library – Clinical Trials
The Cochrane Library consists of a regularly updated collection of evidence-based medicine databases to inform healthcare decision-making. Cochrane provides additional resources such as other systematic reviews, abstracts, technology assessments, economic evaluations, and individual clinical trials.
The Cochrane Library offers a Clinical Trials database that allows for searching of clinical trials as noted in MEDLINE and EMBASE and from other published and unpublished sources. From the main page of the Cochrane Library, select the Clinical Trials resource. Search tips are noted on the main page of the Clinical Trials database.
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Cochrane Library home page |
PubMed
PubMed is a freely accessible online database of biomedical journal citations and abstracts created by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Approximately 5,200 journals published in the United States and more than 80 other countries are indexed in PubMed. Follow directions for searching as noted.
PubMed offers filters for searching of clinical trials. From the main page, click Advanced Search and select the type of clinical trial you want to search for under the Type of Article options box. Options include Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, Controlled Clinical Trial, and Clinical Trial, Phases I, II, III, or IV.
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PubMed Advanced Search Menu page showing type of article filter |
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Last updated: April 27, 2009